"Monotony Collapses Time; Novelty Unfolds It"

Appreciate People

We enjoyed a meandering, lakeside Sunday in Chapala today. Everyone we’ve met since crossing the border has been really, really nice. If I ask about various menu items at a restaurant, servers will often get the food and show me the difference versus just explaining it. When we’ve needed help finding something, people are more than happy to help. Vendors are smiling and wish us a great day whether or not we decided to buy their goods. When I wave at other drivers, or motion them to go ahead, a wave or nod usually comes right back at me. Or they’ll motion me to go ahead instead. People can’t stop staring at iola; they’ll often stop & turn around just to keep watching her with big smiles on their faces. There’s an obvious emphasis on family here.

It’s common for guys to offer to wash your car if you park along the street. Today I paid a guy 50 pesos ($3) to wash Carl (our car) while we walked around. I paid him in advance, so he easily could have kept my money and not washed it, or done a mediocre job. Instead we returned to a shiny, well-washed car.

Long story short, the people we’ve encountered here are fantastic. Even as the media’s attention is on terrorism and retaliation for such, I’d like to think that around the entire world, 99% of all people are kind. They want to eat. They want their families to eat. They want to go to sleep at night in a safe place. They want to provide these things for themselves & others in an honest way. They want to be around those they love. Our experience so far has shown us that here in Mexico, anyway, that is true.